Chris Harlan stories, Page 108
QB Ethan Dahlem exits, but fast start leads Upper St. Clair past North HillsVideo
Like a scene from scary movie, Upper St. Clair quarterback Ethan Dahlem’s head and helmet were twisted around in the wrong direction as he crossed the goal line. Dahlem, with a laugh, called it a horror-movie moment. But for the most part, he was the one turning heads Friday night....
Upper St. Clair out to deny North Hills its 1st playoff win since 2010
North Hills and Upper St. Clair haven’t played one another in nearly a decade, but a first-round matchup has stirred some nostalgia. “It seemed like back in the day, that’s who we were matched up with quite a bit,” said North Hills coach Pat Carey, a 1988 graduate. “That’s back...
Home-field advantage weighs heavy in WPIAL playoffs
North Hills’ Rowdie Rooters, the team’s famed hilltop cheering section, hasn’t celebrated a home playoff game at Martorelli Stadium in almost a decade. But when the WPIAL football playoffs start Friday night, North Hills will be among the teams playing on home turf, an advantage that’s proven to be significant....
2nd WPIAL football playoff game moved to artificial turf
Friday’s forecast predicts drier weather, but Thursday’s rain was enough to force two WPIAL football playoff games to be moved off grass. The WPIAL announced that Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Clairton will play their Class A first-round game at West Mifflin. They were schedule to play at...
PIAA overturns WPIAL, makes Clairton’s Wayne Wade III eligible for football playoffsVideo
Clairton senior Wayne Wade III can participate in the football playoffs, the PIAA decided Thursday, overturning a WPIAL decision on the eve of the postseason. Wade had his appeal heard Thursday morning at the PIAA office in Mechanicsburg. The WPIAL had ruled Wade ineligible for the postseason under a PIAA...
Weather forecast forces Cornell to move football playoff game to West Allegheny
The Cornell football team was hoping to play its first home playoff game since 1983, but a rainy forecast has changed those plans. Instead, Cornell and California will play at 7 p.m. Friday at West Allegheny in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs. The Raiders affectionally call...
Choosing Washington or Avonworth for No. 1 seed among WPIAL’s toughest bracket picks
Choosing the No. 1 seeds was maybe easier than usual for the WPIAL football committee with one exception: Class 2A. There, the committee had three undefeated teams to pick from. Avonworth (10-0) played the strongest schedule with wins over six playoff teams. Burgettstown (9-0) had the stingiest defense, allowing only...
Breaking down the 2019 WPIAL football playoffs
Class 6A Favorite: It’s hard to say. Central Catholic, Pine-Richland and North Allegheny finished in a three-way tie for the conference title. The WPIAL needed tiebreakers to determine their spots in the playoff bracket. Central Catholic received the No. 1 seed because it ranked first among the three in the...
WPIAL bracketology: Chris Harlan, Don Rebel predict 2019 football playoff pairings
The field is set for the WPIAL football playoffs and the six brackets will be revealed Monday night. As always, everybody has an opinion on how those brackets should unfold. Many will guess and take stabs at what they feel will be the first-round matchups before the district makes them...
5 things we learned in Week 9: Cornell earns 1st home playoff game since 1983
Many at Cornell couldn’t remember the football team ever hosting a playoff game, coach Ed Dawson said, but that’s understandable after more than three decades. Those memories are fuzzy because it happened just once — 36 years ago. It became a hot topic after Cornell clincheda first-round home game in...
WPIAL football rankings through Week 9
WPIAL Football Class 6A 1. Central Catholic, 9-1, 2 2. Pine-Richland, 9-1, 3 3. North Allegheny, 9-1, 1 4. Mt. Lebanon, 6-4, 4 5. Seneca Valley, 4-6, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn-Trafford, 9-1, 1 2. Gateway, 8-2, 2 3. Penn Hills, 9-1, 3 4. Moon, 8-2, 4 5....
Pine-Richland defeats rival North Allegheny, creates 3-way tie for conference titleVideo
Pine-Richland quarterback Cole Spencer scanned across North Allegheny’s defense, spotted a safety out of position and turned that mistake into a 79-yard touchdown pass. A few minutes later, the junior noticed a one-on-one matchup he liked and used it to throw a 78-yarder. Those are decisions Spencer might not have...
North Allegheny, Pine-Richland chasing 1st-round byes along with conference title
North Allegheny coach Art Walker hasn’t studied playoff scenarios or counted tiebreaker points ahead of Friday’s regular-season finale at Pine-Richland. This is all Walker cares to know: Win and North Allegheny claims the conference title outright. “That’s it,” he said. “We haven’t done any equations. We’re just worried about the...
5 things to watch in Week 9: Aliquippa, Central Valley battle for conference title
Only one team has defeated Aliquippa in the past two seasons combined: Central Valley in Week 9 last year. That’s one loss in 706 days. It’s also the only loss in Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield’s two-year tenure. “You don’t have to remind me,” Warfield said, laughing. The Beaver County rivals...
Karen Arnold named athletic director for Pittsburgh City League
Karen Arnold was named athletic director for Pittsburgh Public Schools on Thursday, making her the first woman to hold that position. Arnold, a former coach in the City League, will transition from her job as principal at Pittsburgh Fulton PreK-5, an elementary school in Highland Park. She replaces Mike Gavlik,...
WPIAL finds evidence ‘credible,’ but won’t punish Connellsville, Allderdice for slurs
The WPIAL found the evidence “credible,” but Connellsville and Allderdice won’t be punished for the racial and anti-gay slurs allegedly exchanged in a boys high school soccer match last month. Instead, both schools must implement “anti-discrimination, diversity and sensitivity training,” the WPIAL announced Tuesday, a day after players, coaches and...
Clairton’s Wayne Wade III among 2 denied postseason eligibility by WPIAL
The WPIAL denied an appeal from Clairton transfer Wayne Wade III on Monday, leaving the senior ineligible for the upcoming football playoffs. The WPIAL also denied a postseason eligibility waiver request from Beaver volleyball player Lanie French, a junior who transferred from Quaker Valley. She also played softball for the...
WPIAL investigates slurs in 2-hour hearing with Allderdice, Connellsville; decision TuesdayVideo
The WPIAL board of directors, investigating allegations of racial and anti-gay slurs, heard more than two hours of testimony Monday night from boys soccer players, coaches and administrators representing Allderdice and Connellsville. The board reached a decision, but those findings and possible discipline won’t be announced until 10 a.m. Tuesday,...
No vote yet, but WPIAL open to admitting Ligonier Valley
The WPIAL administration supports Ligonier Valley switching districts, if the school is released from PIAA District 6. The WPIAL board didn’t take any formal vote — that can’t come until after District 6 takes action — but it did discuss Ligonier Valley’s situation at Monday’s meeting in Green Tree. WPIAL...
Quaker Valley’s Corinne Washington adds Robert Morris offerVideo
Quaker Valley basketball standout Corinne Washington received a Robert Morris offer Saturday, making her the second WPIAL junior this month to add a Colonials scholarship. Washington is a 5-foot-11 guard/forward and the sister of former Quakers star Coletrane Washington, now at Drexel. She was a double-digit scorer last season for...
Liam Clifford, brother of Penn State quarterback, commits to Nittany LionsVideo
Penn State received a 2021 commitment Sunday from a recruit with a familiar last name. Liam Clifford, the younger brother of Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford, announced his decision to verbally commit on Twitter. The younger Clifford is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound wide receiver for St. Xavier in Cincinnati. Rivals rates...
Peters Township’s Donovan McMillon announces first Division I football offerVideo
Peters Township’s Donovan McMillon made one of his team’s biggest plays Friday night and then added his first Division I offer a day later. The junior announced an offer Saturday from Akron. McMillon blocked a Bethel Park punt in the first quarter of Friday’s 30-7 victory, a play that led...
Five things we learned in Week 8: Special moment for Neshannock’s Jeremy Nativio
Around the WPIAL, Neshannock senior Jeremy Nativio’s 34-yard touchdown run became a feel-good internet sensation. “Pretty much everywhere that I’ve went today, you’ve got people coming up and saying that they saw it on social media,” Lancers football coach Fred Mozzocio said. “They said what a great thing it was...
WPIAL football rankings through Week 8
WPIAL Football Class 6A 1. North Allegheny, 9-0, 1 2. Central Catholic, 8-1, 2 3. Pine-Richland, 8-1, 3 4. Mt. Lebanon, 6-3, 4 5. Seneca Valley, 3-6, 5 Out: none Class 5A 1. Penn-Trafford, 8-1, 1 2. Gateway, 7-2, 2 3. Penn Hills, 8-1, 3 4. Moon, 6-2, 5 5....
Special teams shine as Peters Township defeats Bethel Park in 1st-place clashVideo
Peters Township’s longest touchdown drive covered just 37 yards Friday night, rather short for one of the WPIAL’s top offenses. Blame that on the team’s defense and special teams. Given a short field multiple times, Peters Township never needed to go very far. The Indians finished scoring drives of 24,...
